This is an important first: the company Space topped with the Starship spaceship.
After a nine-minute test flight, the booster headed to its launch site where a set of articulated arms finally “caught” it in mid-flight to save it from a hard landing and destruction. This is a decisive step towards reusing this heavy launcher. Starship is the vehicle selected by NASA to land American astronauts on the Moon in 2026.
The two stages of the rocket – the largest and most powerful in the world – must at the end of its development be recovered and reused after each flight. A strategy aimed at being able to launch more machines more quickly, and for much less money. The ultimate objective of Space
Technical prowess
During each flight, Super Heavy detaches from the ship after propelling it using its 33 powerful engines. Until now, it was going to end its course in the sea, but SpaceX this time managed to bring it back to its launch pad, from the first attempt of this delicate maneuver. “SpaceX engineers spent years preparing for the capture attempt”the company wrote ahead of the launch. For its part, the Starship will continue its flight until landing in the Indian Ocean. It had for the first time successfully landed gently in this ocean during the previous test flight, four months ago.
The development of Starship is being carried out vigorously by SpaceX, launching prototypes without cargo, in order to quickly correct the problems encountered in real flight situations. In recent weeks, the company has openly complained about the slowness of the American aviation regulator (FAA), responsible for flight authorizations.
“It takes more time to complete the paperwork required to obtain a license to launch a rocket than it does to design and build the hardware itself”the company was offended in a rare and long press release in September.
US/China rivalry
Elon Musk, who over the years has made a turn to the right and now ostensibly supports Donald Trump for the November 5 presidential election – even linking his destiny to the victory of the Republican camp – had called on the head of the FAA to resign . SpaceX is also fighting accusations of environmental pollution, particularly linked to the deluge of water poured during each Starship launch when the engines are ignited, in order to attenuate acoustic waves and thus limit vibrations.
But the crazy ambitions of Elon Musk have made it possible to relaunch the conquest of space in the United States, which has been slowing down significantly since the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle in 1986, then that of the Columbia shuttle in 2003. This new race for space has multiplied in recent years as part of a growing rivalry with China, which now displays solid ambitions in the conquest of space.
The United States and China are in a fierce fight to build bases on the ice-rich south pole of the Moon in the 2030s. China announced plans last year to build an international research station lunar, with Russia, while more than 20 countries have joined the Artemis program, led by the United States, which aims to explore the Moon.
In this competition, Space X now plays a key role (thanks to the federal budget). Because, if for the first time in 50 years, NASA is on the verge of launching a rocket intended to transport astronauts to the Moon, it is thanks to the superlauncher and the Starship spacecraft from Space X.
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